CHILD CONTAINER CONTROL OF PARENT CONTAINER OF A USER INTERFACE

• US 20150277673A1
• Filed: 03/27/2014
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sybase Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Xin Ye
• Inventors: YE, Xin
• Granted Patent: US 9,933,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

Disclosed herein are technologies that give a disproportionate amount of screen real estate (or container real estate) to one of a group of user interface (UI) subcontainers to which a user is giving his or her attention. More particularly, in response to an indication that the user is focused and/or interested on a particular subcontainer, the device enlarges that subcontainer to occupy more (and perhaps all) of the available screen (or container) real estate. This Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Claims

1. A method that facilitates container control of a user interface (UI), the method comprising:

presenting a UI on a screen of a computing device, the UI including a parent container that uses all or a portion of the screen, the parent container having multiple children containers therein and each of the multiple children containers has a defined real estate that each child container occupies within the parent container;

determining whether a user has an interest in one of the multiple children containers; and

in response to the determination;

selecting one of the multiple children containers that the user has a determined interest therein, and

emphasizing the selected child container, wherein the emphasizing includes increasing the real estate that the selected child container occupies within the parent container.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, in response to the determination, de-emphasizing the children containers other than the selected child container.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, in response to the determination, de-emphasizing the children containers other than the selected child container, wherein the de-emphasizing includes reducing the real estate that each of the non-selected children containers occupies within the parent container.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising restoring the children containers to their defined real estate.

5. The method according to claim 3 further comprising:

obtaining a restoration trigger;

in response to the trigger, restoring the children containers to their defined real estate.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining includes receiving input from the user associated with the selected child container.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining includes receiving input from the user associated with the selected child container, the input is selected from a group consisting of a tap on the screen, a double tap on the screen, a long press on the screen, a change in orientation of the computing device, and a keypress of an off-screen button on the computing device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the emphasizing includes increasing the real estate of the selected child container so that it occupies all of the real estate of the parent container.

9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, in response to the determination, de-emphasizing the children containers other than the selected child container, wherein the de-emphasizing includes hiding the non-selected children containers from view.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parent container real estate is coextensive with real estate of the screen.

11. A computer-program product that facilitates container control of a user interface (UI), the computer-program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable media storing processor-executable instructions that when executed cause one or more processors to perform operations that facilitates container control of a user interface (UI), the operations comprising;

presenting a UI on a screen of a computing device, the UI including a parent container that uses all or a portion of the screen, the parent container having multiple children containers therein and each of the multiple children containers has a defined real estate that each child container occupies within the parent container;

selecting one of the multiple children containers;

enlarging the selected child container, wherein the enlarging includes increasing the real estate that the selected child container occupies within the parent container; and

reducing the children containers other than the selected child container, wherein the reducing includes decreasing the real estate that each of the non-selected children containers occupies within the parent container.

12. The computer-program product according to claim 11, the operations further comprising:

determining whether a user has an interest in one of the multiple children containers; and

in response to the determination, performing the selecting, enlarging, and reducing operations, wherein the selected child container is the child container in which the user is determined to have an interest.

13. The computer-program product according to claim 12, wherein the determining includes receiving input from the user associated with the selected child container, the input is selected from a group consisting of a tap on the screen, a double tap on the screen, a long press on the screen, a change in orientation of the computing device, and a keypress of an off-screen button on the computing device.

14. The computer-program product according to claim 11, the operations further comprising:

obtaining a restoration trigger;

in response to the trigger, restoring the children containers to their defined real estate.

15. The computer-program product according to claim 11, wherein the reducing includes hiding the non-selected children containers from view.

16. An apparatus that facilitates container control of a user interface (UI), the apparatus comprising:

a UI manager configured to present a UI on a screen of a computing device, the UI including a parent container that uses all or a portion of the screen, the parent container having multiple children containers therein and each of the multiple children containers has a defined real estate that each child container occupies within the parent container;

a focus subcontainer manager configured to;

select one of the multiple children containers, and

enlarge the selected child container, wherein the enlarging includes increasing the real estate that the selected child container occupies within the parent container; and

a non-focus subcontainer manager configured to reduce the children containers other than the selected child container, wherein the reducing includes decreasing the real estate that each of the non-selected children containers occupies within the container.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein

an input sensor is configured to determine whether a user has an interest in one of the multiple children containers;

the focus subcontainer manager is further configured to select and enlarge in response to the determination, wherein the selected child container is the child container in which the user is determined to have an interest; and

the non-focus subcontainer manager is further configured to reduce in response to the determination.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the determination includes receiving input from the user associated with the selected child container, the input is selected from a group consisting of a tap on the screen, a double tap on the screen, a long press on the screen, a change in orientation of the computing device, and a keypress of an off-screen button on the computing device.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein an input sensor is configured to obtain a restoration trigger and the focus subcontainer manager and the non-focus subcontainer manager are further configured to, in response to the trigger, restore the children containers to their defined real estate.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the reduction performed by the non-focus subcontainer manager includes hiding the non-selected children containers from view.